I am trying to determine if adding a USB charging bulkhead to my z6 housing is worthwhile. The Z6 is my new underwater camera, replacing a D90. I’ve never had a a need to replace my d90 battery for several days of my typical dives, usually 3-4 50-60 minute dives a day. I know I won’t be able to that with the z6, but topside shooting when traveling unusually only change/charge the z6 battery once a day, but the camera is not on full time as it will be underwater and I expect more live view shooting underwater than above. I plan to mostly shoot stills and occasional video (maybe 5-10 minutes of video per dive). In order to not require opening the housing between dives, I am considering adding the nauticam usb bulkhead. Does anyone have experience you can relay pertaining to Z6 or Z7 battery life for underwater shooting styles? Thanks.
Z6/Z7 battery life expectations
- Thread starter 4togrfr
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Nauticam has a new USB bulkhead for the M16 port. You can install this new accessory and then charge the battery and download pictures without opening the housing. I just ordered one from Reef. Just carry a booster battery for in between dive top offs. Part number M16-USB-C. I think it is Reef catalog #26325.
You can probably do without looking at the CIPA scores. But, I have often done four or five dives in a day. I was on a live aboard in the Red Sea and then we spent a week or so in Dahab. My NA6400 has an onboard booster battery so I can do four dives but I ran it flat several times. And five is pushing it. I am about to have my housing serviced, it has been three years and about 300 dives (shhh, maybe a lot more). So service is due. I ordered from Reef the Nauticam connector and they will install it for me when I send the housing to them for service. I could do it, easy, but it is going in for service so just letting them do it.
I am going to make an educated or partially educated guess and say that you could do without. But for $180, why not have it as a backup plan for those days when photo opportunities are everywhere and five dives are in the works. Some places you may go you might never return. Do you want to be standing on the beach with a dead battery and futzing on the sand and lumpy rocks full of camel hair trying to change a battery?
PatW
Contributor
I dove for years with a Nikon D800 And Nauticam housing. I never had an issue with a low battery even with 3 dives in a day. I always charged up the battery at the end of the day. But given my experience, I think the rig would have handled at least 6 dives on one charge. The variable here is how many shots are you going to take? Of course, if you take a bunch of shots, filling up your card will probably occur before the battery goes.
I recently got a Z7II, Really nice camera. The DSLR does not use the battery for you to use the viewfinder. For a mirrorless camera, the viewfinder is a tiny video screen and does drain the battery. So how long the battery lasts is part of a balance of how much you use the viewfinder per photo.
I have found that taking stills and being a bit careful, I can do three dives on 1 battery. In my usage, I have not shot video, so I cannot comment on that.
I think getting a USB charging bulkhead and bringing a charging cord and battery on the boat in a dry bag would be worth while.
If you take fewer than 200 photos and use the viewfinder sparingly, you should not need a recharge.
But given the cost of camera, lens, housing, ports, strobes, and dive trip, all of which adds up to $$$$ saving $ on an option to recharge may be a false economy.
I recently got a Z7II, Really nice camera. The DSLR does not use the battery for you to use the viewfinder. For a mirrorless camera, the viewfinder is a tiny video screen and does drain the battery. So how long the battery lasts is part of a balance of how much you use the viewfinder per photo.
I have found that taking stills and being a bit careful, I can do three dives on 1 battery. In my usage, I have not shot video, so I cannot comment on that.
I think getting a USB charging bulkhead and bringing a charging cord and battery on the boat in a dry bag would be worth while.
If you take fewer than 200 photos and use the viewfinder sparingly, you should not need a recharge.
But given the cost of camera, lens, housing, ports, strobes, and dive trip, all of which adds up to $$$$ saving $ on an option to recharge may be a false economy.
Thanks Pat, your observations are in line with my thinking; it is a relatively low cost for convenience/piece of mind. However, if it is unnecessary, I'd rather keep the $$$ for other accessories. I'd never had to think about battery life for my D90. I am diving in a week and haven't added the USB port yet so I'll just see how it goes for my shooting style and then go from there. I'm sure 2-dives will be fine, but I'm just not sure about the 3rd/4th. I'll report back when I return, hopefully with lots of incredible photos!
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